INSIDIOUS seeks to be this generation’s POLTERGEIST
INSIDIOUS (James Wan, 2011)
Opens Friday, April 1
www.insidious-movie.com
James Wan was very clear what he intended with his latest film, declaring, “I want Insidious to be this generation’s Poltergeist.” Teaming up with the producers of the surprise hit Paranormal Acitivity, Wan and writer-actor Leigh Whannell, who previously collaborated on the first Saw movie (the good one), have come damn close to achieving their goal. Paying homage to such scary movies as The Exorcist, The Shining, and The Legend of Hell House while outright stealing from Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg’s 1982 Poltergeist, Wan and Whannell have delivered a PG-13 frightfest that will have audiences jumping out of their seats. Shortly after moving into a new house, Renai (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Patrick Wilson) are devastated when one of their children, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), suddenly slips into an unexplainable coma. Rose soon begins seeing strange things, including shadowy figures outside her window and in the baby’s room, so they move to another house, but it turns out that the ghosts aren’t attached to the physical structure; they’re after Dalton. Josh’s mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey), recommends the family bring in a psychic, and after Josh’s initial reluctance, Elise (Lin Shaye) and her two-person crew (Whannell and Angus Sampson) are making their way through the second house, using special equipment — including a hysterical gas mask — to get to the bottom of it all. And of course, they don’t like what they find. Insidious is a creepy, classic haunted-house flick filled with genuine shocks, red herrings, a silly back story, and a pretty stupid, unconvincing ending, but that doesn’t stop it from being a helluva lot of fun.